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Because I know at least a few people on my f-list will be interested (or will want to poke at me for classifying my books 'wrong'), I thought I'd post an explanation of how I separated the books I read in 2005 into categories. ( Read more... )
books 2005: Year in Review
Jan. 23rd, 2006 03:45 pmLast January, I started keeping track of the books I was reading. Mostly I just wanted to see how many I would read; I think I was aiming for 50. As the year went on and I got a better sense of just how voracious a reader I am, the goal went up, and thanks to the wonders of Neil Gaiman, I read over 100 books in 2005. Here’s my summary of and thoughts on what I read. If you want to see the list, it's here (I'm not going to try to link to my posts about each individual book, so please see the list if you're interested in one in particular).
( Book Categories )
( Best books of the Year )
( Book Categories )
( Best books of the Year )
books 2005: The Snow Queen, by Joan Vinge
Dec. 25th, 2005 10:26 amI'm gradually trying to work through the Hugo Award list, so I bought this book. I really got into it, it was really good.
Holidays are going well. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Holidays are going well. Merry Christmas, everyone!
This one's a bit longer than the Coe and Van Stone book. I finished that one first because it's shorter, and also because it was the only *required* text for the class. This one by Montgomery was only *recommended*, and only certain passages in it were listed on the syllabus. I read the whole thing because I'm like that. Also it was really interesting. The Coe and Van Stone book was more of a handbook, the kind of thing you can stick in your bag and take with you to Chichen Itza because it will be useful. The Montgomery book is more of an instructional manual than a reference guide, and its main purpose is really teaching you to understand and read the glyphs. That also makes it a weightier book to get through. I didn't actually do all the exercises (though I should have), but I did read the whole thing.
I think it's very appropriate that my 100th book for the year is my Maya class textbook. I have read the entire thing. Excellent.
The last one, finally. I liked this one a lot. I probably liked Death's and Dream's stories the most, but I also liked Destruction's story. I think Destruction is my favorite character. I liked Despair's and Destiny's stories the least, because I felt like they told us things we already know.
::edit:: This is book #99! IMFGS!!
::edit:: This is book #99! IMFGS!!
I am very sad about this. I would be interested in hearing people's thoughts about this book.
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Frightened people called the The Kindly Ones. Unstoppable in their mission of vengeance, they would not rest until the crime they sought to punish had been avenged; had been washed clean, with blood. Now Dream of the Endless, his acquaintances and his family find themselves caught up in a dark conspiracy. And someone is going to die."
...
::edit:: Hey Heather, if you see this post before you go to work, could you bring the last books with you to work and give them to Amy? I'll be seeing her tomorrow night. I really want to finish them now. I also never want to read any more of them ever again, but I think I should finish them.
Also, note to self, never read the fucking introductions to these books before reading the book itself. What are these introduction writers thinking? They could at least put OMG SPOILER ALERT somewhere in there. Jeez.
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Frightened people called the The Kindly Ones. Unstoppable in their mission of vengeance, they would not rest until the crime they sought to punish had been avenged; had been washed clean, with blood. Now Dream of the Endless, his acquaintances and his family find themselves caught up in a dark conspiracy. And someone is going to die."
...
::edit:: Hey Heather, if you see this post before you go to work, could you bring the last books with you to work and give them to Amy? I'll be seeing her tomorrow night. I really want to finish them now. I also never want to read any more of them ever again, but I think I should finish them.
Also, note to self, never read the fucking introductions to these books before reading the book itself. What are these introduction writers thinking? They could at least put OMG SPOILER ALERT somewhere in there. Jeez.
( Read more... )
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Caught in the vortex of a reality storm, wayfarers from throughout time, myth, and the imagination converge on a mysterious inn. In the tradition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the travelers wait out the tempest that rages around them by sharing stories."
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Caught in the vortex of a reality storm, wayfarers from throughout time, myth, and the imagination converge on a mysterious inn. In the tradition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the travelers wait out the tempest that rages around them by sharing stories."
I really liked the stories in this one. I especially liked seeing Johanna Constantine's story (though I feel like she's going to turn up again somewhere else), and Orpheus's story, and the story about the Caliph of Baghdad.
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "From the mists of the past to the nightmares of the present, Dream touches the lives of Haroun Al Raschid, King of Ancient Baghdad, Lady Johanna Constantine, spy and adventuress, and Joshua Norton, self-styled emperor of the United States, among others in nine remarkable self-contained stories."
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "From the mists of the past to the nightmares of the present, Dream touches the lives of Haroun Al Raschid, King of Ancient Baghdad, Lady Johanna Constantine, spy and adventuress, and Joshua Norton, self-styled emperor of the United States, among others in nine remarkable self-contained stories."
This one struck me as really sad, I think. ( Read more... )
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Delirium, youngest of the Endless, prevails upon her brother Dream to help find their missing brother, Destruction. Their odyssey through the waking world also leads the Sandman to resolve his painful relationship with his son, Orpheus."
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Delirium, youngest of the Endless, prevails upon her brother Dream to help find their missing brother, Destruction. Their odyssey through the waking world also leads the Sandman to resolve his painful relationship with his son, Orpheus."
This one was good, but not as good as some of the others, I thought. Or maybe it was but I just didn't like it as much?
( Read more... )
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Barbie, from The Doll's House, used to dream of being a princess in a lush, private kingdom with strage animals as her subjects. But Barbie has stopped dreaming. Now her imaginary world and her real world entwine in a riveting story about gender and identity."
( Read more... )
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Barbie, from The Doll's House, used to dream of being a princess in a lush, private kingdom with strage animals as her subjects. But Barbie has stopped dreaming. Now her imaginary world and her real world entwine in a riveting story about gender and identity."
I really liked this one. It's the one about how he goes to hell to get Nada and all the hijinks that ensue. Really, really good.
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Ten thousand years ago, the Sandman condemned his one true love to the pits of Hell. When his sister Death convinces him that Nada was unjustly imprisoned, Dream journeys to Hell to resuce his lost lover... just as Lucifer Morningstar decides to abdicate his throne... leaving the Key to Hell in the hands of the Sandman."
*edit* This is book #90. Only ten more to go before the end of the year. I think I'm going to make the goal--I mean, how many more Sandman books are there? Plus I've got the books I'm reading for my classes, which I will most likely finish before the end of the year. I'm already anticipating doing some sort of Year in Review, to look back over everything I've read. Because there's nothing I like talking about more than books!
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Ten thousand years ago, the Sandman condemned his one true love to the pits of Hell. When his sister Death convinces him that Nada was unjustly imprisoned, Dream journeys to Hell to resuce his lost lover... just as Lucifer Morningstar decides to abdicate his throne... leaving the Key to Hell in the hands of the Sandman."
*edit* This is book #90. Only ten more to go before the end of the year. I think I'm going to make the goal--I mean, how many more Sandman books are there? Plus I've got the books I'm reading for my classes, which I will most likely finish before the end of the year. I'm already anticipating doing some sort of Year in Review, to look back over everything I've read. Because there's nothing I like talking about more than books!
This had some really good stories in it, but it was too short--the inclusion of the script in the back of it (at least, in the copy I was reading) made it so that there weren't as many stories as I expected, and I was disappointed. What there was was excellent, though. Now, just to wait till Heather gets back so I can more...
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Four chilling and unique tales: Calliope, Dream of a Thousand Cats, Facade, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, the World Fantasy Award-winning story of the first performance of William Shakespeare's play with art by Charles Vess. Also contains Gaiman's original comic book script for Calliope."
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Four chilling and unique tales: Calliope, Dream of a Thousand Cats, Facade, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, the World Fantasy Award-winning story of the first performance of William Shakespeare's play with art by Charles Vess. Also contains Gaiman's original comic book script for Calliope."
I liked this one a lot, even better than the first one. And I like how in the middle of telling the main story, he'll just wander off for a while and talk about something completely unrelated. The characters are really interesting and cool.
Hey Heather, I'm going to need more soon. You started my addiction, so you have to keep feeding me. :)
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Rose Walker finds more than she bargained for including long lost relatives, a serial killers' convention and, ultimately, her true identity when The Sandman attempts to unravel her mystery."
Hey Heather, I'm going to need more soon. You started my addiction, so you have to keep feeding me. :)
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Rose Walker finds more than she bargained for including long lost relatives, a serial killers' convention and, ultimately, her true identity when The Sandman attempts to unravel her mystery."
Awesome. Really, really cool. And it was thanks to jury duty that I finally started reading it!
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Dream of the Endless, also known as the Sandman, had been trapped for 70 years. After his imprisonment and eventual escape, the Sandman must reclaim his realm, The Dreaming, as well as his articles of pwer: his helmet, his pouch and his amulet."
From the short description in the back of Endless Nights (for future reference): "Dream of the Endless, also known as the Sandman, had been trapped for 70 years. After his imprisonment and eventual escape, the Sandman must reclaim his realm, The Dreaming, as well as his articles of pwer: his helmet, his pouch and his amulet."
